do my best to clear her good name. If you wish to join the lead investigator and the sheriff for that press conference, you are welcome, provided that Ms. Doyle has been fed, allowed to clean up, and given fresh clothes.” When the other man started to speak, FireWind spoke over his words. “Also provided that her daughter has been allowed to speak to her on the phone, and that compelling measures have been taken to place Miren with Etain Doyle.” He gave a smile that would have done a wildcat proud.
“Might take you up on that next press conference.” The chief glanced at Catriona and back. “She’ll be offered all proper and legally available means to make her comfortable. I’ll contact social services and request a callback from the social worker on call this weekend. Make sure your paperwork is all in order.” The chief left the room, moving fast for a big man.
EIGHT
I took Highway 62 and was back in Knoxville HQ by four thirty p.m. It had already been a long day. I updated JoJo on the interrogation in Cookeville PD, wrote up my reports, organized my files, and watered my office plants. I also went upstairs to the vacant third floor and looked around. Construction had begun in the last few days in the huge, empty, wall-less space. The studs in the outer walls were metal, not wood, with foam insulation everywhere. The floor was neatly swept concrete. Wiring extended from pipes in the walls, and plumbing pipes were roughed in. There were orange lines spray-painted all over the floor where walls might go. On the back of the building there was a shaft for a future elevator, in a space that roughly correlated with the emergency stairs.
A makeshift table stood in the middle of the room. I walked across to it and saw two sets of floor plans. One was yellowed and dusty, and showed a lab. The other was newer, and it was a plan for offices.
It was interesting. And different. If the offices went through, it meant having PsyLED brass on hand all the time. FireWind, Soul. And half of our team split up and working up here. I wasn’t ready for that. I wasn’t ready for change.
Which was why I hadn’t gone home yet. Not being ready for change and not wanting to deal with the monsters Strife and Discord. “Time to face the monsters,” I whispered. Downstairs, I gathered my gear and said good-bye to JoJo. “I’ll be back in the morning.”
“Watch the press conference on YouTube,” she said.
“Yeah. Okay,” I said, not knowing if I would be able to. I might have to catch the high points later. It was a sunny Saturday with fluffy clouds in the sky, but I was too tired to enjoy it. Pellissippi Parkway and Oak Ridge Highway were bumper-to-bumper and I sighed with relief when I skirted Oliver Springs and turned into the hills. There were a few yellow poplars and rare orangey maples standing out against the wash of green. I rolled down the window and breathed deeply, smelling the life and the wonder of the green. Soulwood was waiting for me, and I knew the moment it felt me drive onto its lands. A rush of happiness and warmth rolled through me like the first day of spring. I was home.
* * *
* * *
Mud was in the backyard, training Cherry in the homemade obstacle course between the new greenhouse and the house. My youngest sister was wearing shorts, sneakers, and a T-shirt—not clothing she would ever have been allowed to wear were she still in the church. Mud’s short hair bounced with every stride.
In a burst of defiance following her second day of public school, Mud had come in the door, gone to the kitchen, and whacked off her hair with a kitchen knife. A boy had pulled her ponytail and teased her about being a member of the “sex church.” I had a feeling there had been more than that said, enough to leave Mud in tears. The ragged hair had resulted in a trip into town to the hair salon where I got my first short cut. It had also resulted in the purchase of training bras, Mud’s first tube of pale lipstick, first powder compact, and first deodorant. Things I hadn’t thought about for my baby sister.
Mama had nearly had kittens when she saw the short hair and the lipstick, and started a ruckus about me not getting